The Internet has made this the age of the instant political movement. Like-minded people (and even unlike-minded people) can find one another and quickly create a kind of critical mass. The hope, often the expectation, is that these new aggregations can bring positive change to the body politic. This includes seizing new opportunities for democratizing communication and communicating democracy, both of which are urgently needed.

About Me

Former Member, New York State Committee of the Independence Party (73rd AD - Eastside Manhattan) and Former Member, New York City Independence Party Organizations - Manhattan Executive Committee and County Committee, representing the 73rd AD.

Register to Vote

OnTopList

Blogarama

Thursday, May 11, 2017

ACLU Challenges New Hampshire Voter Signature-Matching Law

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today sued New Hampshire for invalidating the Absentee Ballots of hundreds of Voters, many of whom are Disabled, without warning.

At issue is a State Law that allows Election officials, who have no handwriting-analysis expertise, to reject an Absentee Ballot, without giving notice to the Voter, if they think there is a signature mismatch in the Voter’s paperwork. People with Disabilities are far more likely to have fluctuating handwriting or to require the assistance of someone to sign their name, as allowed under Federal Disability Rights Law.

A similar condition happened to me when a petition signature was challenged when a signer required his nurse to help sign my petition to get on the ballot.

“People should not be denied their fundamental right to vote because of penmanship, but that’s exactly what is happening in New Hampshire,” said Gilles Bissonnette, Legal Director of the ACLU of New Hampshire.

Voters are never even informed that their Ballots have been thrown out. Over the past five years, more than 500 voters have been disenfranchised under the Law. They include Plaintiff Mary Saucedo, a 94-year-old Manchester resident who is legally blind and allowed to obtain assistance in completing the Absentee Ballot process. For that, she relies on her husband of 51 years, Gus, an 86-year-old military veteran. In the 2016 General Election, he assisted her in filling out her Ballot, sent it in, and assumed her vote had been counted. Unbeknownst to them, it hadn’t.

“The decision to throw out a ballot and deprive a citizen of their vote is essentially arbitrary. There are no transparent procedures for evaluating voter signatures,” said Julie Ebenstein, Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “New Hampshire cannot create barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from voting and having their votes counted. Period.”

The Lawsuit, Saucedo v. Gardner, cites Violations of the Federal Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It was filed in U.S. District Court of New Hampshire, Civil Case. No. 1:17-cv-183.